Voltage Division
OBJECTIVE
To verify the voltage-division and current-division properties in resistive DC circuits
and compare the measured results with theoretical calculations.
EQUIPMENT
• Breadboard
• DC Power Supply
• Assorted resistors: 2.2 kΩ, 3.9 kΩ, 6.2 kΩ.
• Digital Multimeter (DMM)
• Connecting leads and crocodile clips
THEORY
Resistive circuits are one of the most fundamental building blocks used to model
and design real-world systems. Two important principles that govern how voltages
and currents are shared in such circuits are the Voltage Division Rule (VDR) and
the Current Division Rule (CDR).
1. Voltage Division
When resistors are connected in series, the same current flows through all of them
since there is only one path. However, the voltage across each resistor is not the
same—it is divided in proportion to the resistance values. A larger resistor drops a
larger share of the supply voltage, while a smaller resistor drops a smaller share.
This is known as the voltage division principle:
𝑅𝑋
𝑉𝑋 = 𝑉𝑠
𝑅TOTAL
OBJECTIVE
To verify the voltage-division and current-division properties in resistive DC circuits
and compare the measured results with theoretical calculations.
EQUIPMENT
• Breadboard
• DC Power Supply
• Assorted resistors: 2.2 kΩ, 3.9 kΩ, 6.2 kΩ.
• Digital Multimeter (DMM)
• Connecting leads and crocodile clips
THEORY
Resistive circuits are one of the most fundamental building blocks used to model
and design real-world systems. Two important principles that govern how voltages
and currents are shared in such circuits are the Voltage Division Rule (VDR) and
the Current Division Rule (CDR).
1. Voltage Division
When resistors are connected in series, the same current flows through all of them
since there is only one path. However, the voltage across each resistor is not the
same—it is divided in proportion to the resistance values. A larger resistor drops a
larger share of the supply voltage, while a smaller resistor drops a smaller share.
This is known as the voltage division principle:
𝑅𝑋
𝑉𝑋 = 𝑉𝑠
𝑅TOTAL
